Page 14 of Ruthless Touch

Marcus wouldn’t treat a woman like that. The memory of the sweet American with the gentle eyes stops me for a moment, and I feel like shit that I’m the reason he’s probably wandering the streets of the Amalfi Coast with no place to stay because Gideon threw him out of the hotel.

Fed up, I storm to the front door and fling it open to find Raphael standing there doing his usual impression of a statue. God, that pisses me off even more! Does this guy actually like simply posing like an inanimate object day in and day out?

He doesn’t glance over at me, even though I know he’s fully aware I’m standing here. If I thought it would make me feel better, I’d punch him. Not that he’d feel it. The guy’s like a mountain of flesh, bone, and muscle. My fist hitting him would feel like a flea landing on his skin.

I have to do something, though, so I ball my hands into fists and scream, “You know, you could at least acknowledge I’m standing right here! It’s rude to not even turn to ask if I’m okay or if I need something. Not that anyone in this fucking place cares about that, but still, it would be nice.”

That gets a reaction from him, and he slowly turns his big, stony head to look at me. “Do you need something, miss?” he asks in that robot-like voice.

“I need to get the hell out of this penthouse and out of his hotel. Any chance you can assist me in that?” I pointedly ask, knowing he wouldn’t help me even if he could.

Raphael purses his lips, and for a moment, I wait for him to reply to my outburst. It never happens, though, and a few seconds later, he simply turns his head to face forward again.

More infuriated than I was before, I snap, “Nice chat. We’ll have to do it again sometime.”

He doesn’t respond, so I slam the door and begin pacing again. I guess I could have tried to make a break for it and run to the elevator to escape this place, but he’d have me in his grasp before I could even press the damn DOWN button.

I hate him. I hate Gideon. And I hate Sasha. Not in that order, necessarily either. In fact, Gideon should be at the top of the list because he’s the architect of all my misery. The other two are simply his minions helping him to make my life awful.

I head out to the terrace and look over the side at the hill below. I should throw myself over and save Gideon the trouble of unceremoniously having me escorted out of the building and tossed into the streets like my American dance partner. If he does that tonight, I’ll be sure to look for Marcus. Maybe we can find a place to stay together for the night.

It’s the least I can do for him since he was punished because of me.

Tilting my head back to look at the dark night sky above, I silently remind myself that’s wrong. He wasn’t punished because of me. He was punished because Gideon is a complete asshole who got jealous over nothing.

If he cares enough to be jealous of my innocently dancing with another man, then maybe he should show me that instead of forcing me back into his penthouse like some disobedient child.

I take a deep breath in an attempt to calm down and let myself enjoy the scent of lemons in the air. That’s always been one of my favorite parts of living here on the coast. No matter how bad things ever got, the beauty of this region made me see I had something to be thankful for.

Behind me, I hear the door to the penthouse open, but I don’t turn around to face him. If Gideon wants me to pay attention to him, he’s going to have to at least apologize for being so terrible about my dancing with Marcus. If not, then I can stay out here and ignore him all night. It’s not like we ever do anything together other than actually sleep when we’re both here anyway.

“Aria, Gideon wants you to come back downstairs,” Sasha says brusquely.

The sound of a voice I hadn’t expected makes me turn around, and in just a few steps, Gideon’s all too beautiful assistant is standing right in front of me. I scan her expression and see she isn’t as angry as she sounded a moment ago. In fact, all I see in her face is nothing less than fascination.

She truly is odd. One minute it’s like she hates me, and then the next minute she gives me a look like she wishes she could have me.

Is she gay? No, I don’t believe that. My gut tells me she and Gideon have been together. For all I know they still could be. But I know the look in her eye right now. I’ve seen it before in men. She may be crazy about him, but she’s got something going on for me too.

“Please tell Gideon I’m not interested in leaving my opulent prison.”

Sasha doesn’t respond for a long moment, simply staring into my eyes with an intensity that unnerves me. I fight against looking away, though. Something tells me with a person like her I need to stand my ground.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see something move. Looking down, I watch as her right hand holding her mask shakes like she’s angry.

“Aria, make this easy on both of us and come with me. Gideon needs you downstairs.”

Her use of the word need makes me roll my eyes. “Gideon needs me? What a joke. Gideon never needs me. If he did, he wouldn’t keep me prisoner up here, never paying a moment’s attention to me when he comes home every night.”

She takes a step closer to me and lets out a heavy sigh. “I understand. He can be a difficult person to appreciate if you aren’t like him. Gideon just has his way of doing things. He means you no harm. So let’s go back down to the ball.”

I study her nearly perfect face and feel jealousy surge inside me. “Well, how nice it must be for you then since you’re just like him. Two peas in an ice cold, feelingless pod. Why don’t you go back downstairs and you be his date for the night? It won’t be the first time, I’m sure, and likely not the last either.”

My insult doesn’t seem to affect her at all. She continues to stare into my eyes like I’m the most intriguing thing in the world right now.

Reaching her hand out, she caresses my cheek, sending chills through me. “It’s true he and I are very much alike, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t care about you. You need to be patient with him. He has a lot to handle with this hotel and his family.”

God, I’m so sick of hearing this woman defend Gideon Rule! Can he do nothing wrong in her eyes?

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